


Tea Time

by IvanaFlynn



Series: Growing Up Gerudo [7]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Caped Keaton, Father's Day, Gerudo!Link, father!Ganon, growing up gerudo au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-16 02:33:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7248601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvanaFlynn/pseuds/IvanaFlynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Father’s Day tribute</p><p>Link goes high and low just to get his father a present, but all the bumps and bruises mean nothing to him if it’s for Ganon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tea Time

It was dark out, just the way he liked it. No moon in sight, the stars barely visible through the clouds; he thanked the goddess for the cover of night. After peaking out, looking for any passerby, he leaped out of his hiding place in the ally, scurrying across the torchlight toward the opposite wall and used his clawed gauntlet to vault himself up the wall. He looked back to see if anyone heard him and when nobody came, he continued to his destination.

The leaps for building to building felt… boring. While it was nice to have some air time, he felt none of it through his yellow mask, not like how he could feel it when he was flying on Bow-Wow. But he wasn’t here for fun, here was here for one thing only.

He stopped his movement and crouched in the darkness, looking at the shop across the street. There, through the window was a tea-set display. It wasn’t too fancy, but nice enough to please his father.

Yes, this was all for him, to make his father happy.

It all started when he was… training. Yes, training, not playing make-believe with his swords, training.

**Flashback**

_Link swiped his curved scimitar downward, twirling the other one as he brought it back up. “Heh,”_ _he smirked, “told ‘ya that I was the best in sword fighting.” He put the dull part of his right blade onto his shoulder and brought the other one up, pointing the sharp end to his imaginary foe. “Now you will reap the consequences.”_

_“You don_ _’t mean that, do you?”_

_Link immediately put his swords away and stood up straight, ready to deny any accusations thrown his way. But there was nobody there, not around him at least. He heard the continuation of the conversation not far from him, in the room just through the window. He couldn_ _’t see the bodies as they sat behind the wall, but he knew the voices. His dad and Sika._

_“I do. He just looks so… disappointing.”_

_What? That was Ganon, but what was he talking about? Curiosity getting the best of him, Link crept up to the ledge and crouched underneath the window to get a better listen to the conversation._

_“So…_ _he doesn_ _’t live up to your standard?” Sika_ _’s tone was too serious to Link_ _’s liking._

_“No, that_ _’s not it.”_ _Ganon sighed. “_ _I just… sometimes I wish I had something better, something fit for a king, you know?”_

_Was Ganon talking about him? Did his father really think that Link was not good enough? Was he a failure?_

_“Well, as long as the tea is good, I don_ _’t care what tea set we have.” That was Sika_ _’s normal voice, the loud “I-don_ _’t-care-it_ _’s-mine” voice._

_Wait, “tea set”? Link peeked over the edge just enough to see Sika and his dad sitting in the room with the only plain and chipped tea set between them. Ganon was glaring at one of the cups in his hand, careful not to break it. Oh, so they weren_ _’t talking about him, they were talking about those things *****._

_“So you don_ _’t want a set that_ _’s at least a little nicer?” Ganon raised an eyebrow._

_“Nope! I_ _’m not spoiled like you.”_

_“Hey! I_ _’m not spoiled.”_

_Sika put her hands behind her head. “Suuuure, Mr. King.”_

_“Don_ _’t take that tone with me. I demand respect.”_

_“I_ _’_ _ll give ‘ya respect when you deserve it.” She smirked and lightly elbowed Ganon in the side._

_Link couldn_ _’t help but chuckle as his dad fell for Sika_ _’s sarcasm. That happened to him once or twice but it wasn_ _’t like he was going to tell anyone that._

_Then Link thought back to the conversation they had earlier. “So he wants a new tea set, huh?” A smile played on his lips as he thought of something he saw last time he was in Hyrule._

**End Flashback**

The Caped Keaton jumped down from the roof up to the store window. He knew that there was no way he would be able to get the set out through the wooden bars, so he had to find a way in. In hindsight, he realized that using the front door was a really stupid idea but everyone makes mistake now and then, right?

He quietly turned the knob, slowly opening the door, hoping that it would not creek. Happy that it didn’t make a sound, he quickly went in and closed it lightly. Quickly scanning the room, he tip-toed across the floor, staying close to the front wall and keeping a vigilant eye on the dark corners.

When he got to his target, Link slowly swiped a finger across the rim of the golden cups, admiring their shine. He picked one up, examining the soft floral design. The red interior with the golden exterior reminded him of his dad and he knew that the man secretly always wanted a flower garden, so this set was perfect. The handles on the cups were tiny though. He would get a kick seeing the big oaf squeeze his sausage fingers through those.

Stopping to look at his prize, he made one fatal mistake. He left his back wide open. Because of this, someone was able to jump upon him and wrapped their legs around his torso, pinning his arms to his sides. He stumbled back, the suddenly added weight making him lose his balance. Once regaining it, Link spun around, trying to knock whoever it was off but then they just latched onto his neck and head with their arms. Link went stock-still in fear of them breaking his neck.

“You done moving?” The voice firm and a bit shaky but was definitely male. “Good.” The arm around the Caped Keaton’s head slowly moved across the front, fingers curling on the edge of the mask. “Now I’m just going to…”

When Link realized what the man was doing, it was too late. He tried to move, to get out of the stranger’s grasp, but that only helped the man pull off the mask. He then jumped off Link’s back with a kick, using the teen as a spring board.

Link turned to get a look at the… scrawny man? He didn’t really have much muscle to him, it was a wonder how he even got the best of Link. How the hell was this weak-looking man able to have such a strong grip? When he looked at the man’s face, he saw the man’s eyes widen. That’s when Link realized he made a third and most fatal mistake.

He revealed his identity to a civilian.

“You… you’re the wanted Gerudo boy,” the man gaped. Something akin to a smirk played on his lips but it didn’t feel very sinister. “So **you** are the masked vigilante I have heard so much about.”

Link cursed under his breath. If the man were to get the guards, he was doomed. Link didn’t think to bring his swords with him because they would be too cumbersome on a sneaking mission. Besides, this was only to be a “get in, get the item, get out” kind of thing. No fighting involved. Now he was regretting that choice.

“I’m not going to call the guards.”

Silence. It took Link a while to process what had just been said. Even when he did, he still didn’t understand what the man had said. “What?”

“I said I am not going to call the guards.”

Link scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion.

“But in return, I want you to do something for me.”

Link opened his mouth in a silent “ah”. He should have known this was coming. No one would do something like this for free.

The man glanced at the tea set behind him. “Is that what you’re after?” He pointed to the Caped Keaton’s prize, looking straight at Link. When he didn’t receive and answer, then man grabbed a box and carefully took the set off the display table and into the box. Once it was all packed, he closed the lid and set the Keaton mask on top, then handed it over to Link. “You can have it.”

Link warily took the box, still not trusting this man.

“I expect you back in a week,” the man continued after he let go of the box.

Link made to leave the building, but something stopped him. He turned to the man. “Who.. who are you? So that I can find you later.” Link quickly added, embarrassed for some reason.

The man smiled, but it was once again not sinister nor devious. “My name’s Beedle. Now go on, get out of here, before the guards actually catch you.” He waved the boy out, hurrying him along to the door.

Link couldn’t help but smile along with Beetle as he was ushered out.

* * *

 

It took two days to get back to the Gerudo Desert. Two full days so it was late at night when he got to the gate. He hoped that Sika was the one on night guard now. She was the only one that knew of his nightly adventures most of the time and if it was someone else, well, he would be in big trouble. To his luck, he saw that signature slouch that made it seem like she was defenseless, but he knew better.

“Sika!” he called out, waving his hand high in the air.

The girl’s back suddenly straightened in high alert, but then slightly relaxed as a small grin came on her face and her eyes became half-lidded. “Oh and who is this little intruder?”

Link did his best to ignore the “little” part, but his eye did twitch a little. He was happy that his mask was still on or else Sika would not let that go. “Come on, Sika. It’s me! You know me!”

She poked her chin out, lifting her head as if she was superior. “I’m sorry, I do not know someone called ‘me’.”

“My name is Link! You know that!”

“You could be anyone with that mask on.”

“Sikaaaaa.” He lifted the Keaton mask up, unveiling his identity that she could not deny.

The girl turned her head. “I’m sorry, I’m suddenly blind.”

“Okay, Sika, enough. I’m going in with or without your permission.” He knew that he would not be able to win a fight against her, let alone get through her, but he had to try. He had to get back to give his father his present. Before he could take a step though, Sika held out her hand, palm upward.

Link stared at it confused for a few seconds when Sika finally spoke up. “The list? You promised a list of Hylian bachelors.”

“Uh…”

Sika glared. “You forgot, didn’t you?” She shrugged and smirked. “Looks like you’re sleeping out here tonight. Let me know how the lecture goes.”

“No! I didn’t forget! I… I just...” Link fumbled with his words coming with the best bluff. “I found someone so perfect that…that I didn’t need to make a list!” He placed his hands on his hips puffed out his chest.

“Uh-huh.” She squinted a pair of skeptical eyes at him. “And what, pray-tell, is this perfect candidate’s name?”

“Um,” Link brought his hand up to his chin. Come on, it was only two days ago, why couldn’t he remember the man’s name. It was something related to a bug. No, it was a bug but what one? It was one he doesn’t see often, maybe one he never saw before. He was thinking it was only in Hyrule? He heard Zelda talk a lot about a certain bug, maybe it was that? “I think his name is… Cockroach?”

Sika cringed. “I am **not** dating a man named **Cockroach**.”

“But he’s riiiiiiiiiich.” Link shrugged with his hands, a grin plastered on his face as he lifted his eyebrows. That was probably a lie but you never know. The man owned a shop, so that meant he was rich, right?

“Hm…” Sika rubbed her chin. “I’ll think about it. You head on in before you get both of us in trouble.” She waved him in and Link quickly obliged, going straight for his bed.

The following day, Link gave the tea set to his dad. All that chaos, almost dying multiple time, was all worth seeing that elated look on the man’s face. The big bear hug could have been left out but he would take it. Seeing his dad so happy was all worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> *In the Gerudo language, there really is only one pronoun, so it could be interpreted as “he”, “she”, or “it”. So in the dialogue between Ganon and Sika, it seemed like they were saying “he”, but that was just how Link interpreted it. They were really saying “it”.


End file.
